Meddling Kids
1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in the Zoinx River Valley in Oregon) are all grown up and haven't seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, Kerri, Nate, and Weimaraner Tim have decided the time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began. This time, the real monsters are waiting.
Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids is the answer to my Scooby-Doo loving heart. Growing up, I binged this series regularly. I always wondered what happened after their monsterous adventures ended, so when I found this book on the shelf, I had to pick it up. And not just because of the synopsis, but that cover! Those colours? It’s eye-catching and bright and bold and just perfect. The designers who came up with it did a great job.
I like how Cantero decided each character would cope with the trauma of what happened in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, has an anger problem and is on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri was a kid genius and budding biologist, but readers find her bartending in New York with a serious drinking problem. We see Nate in and out of mental hospitals for thirteen years, isolated from everyone except Peter, the leader of their detective club. The only problem is Peter has been dead for years.
To see the group start out struggling in the beginning to where the ended up at the end, living together in the town that holds good memories and pursuing their dreams, left me with the warm fuzzies. I like how Cantero brought they full circle.
Cantero’s decision for Andy to be in love with Kerri was well done. I like how he wrote their relationship and how unsure Kerri was about her feelings for Andy. It was authentic and I appreciated how open-ended he left their relationship. I like to think Andy joined Kerri at whatever university she decided to go to, living together happily and in love.
I’m impressed with how Cantero managed to blend mystery, magic, Native American legends, and biological mutations in this book. The gang wasn’t just facing a man in a cheap mask, but a witch/pirate queen who had accessed powers to unlock an ancient monster and its mutated henchmen. He was able to combine it all together in a way that made sense and made me want to read faster to solve the mystery alongside Andy and the gang.
For fans of the beloved Scooby-Doo series, or just a good creepy mystery, you need to pick up Meddling Kids.
Meddling Kids Rating: ★★★★
Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids is the answer to my Scooby-Doo loving heart. Growing up, I binged this series regularly. I always wondered what happened after their monsterous adventures ended, so when I found this book on the shelf, I had to pick it up. And not just because of the synopsis, but that cover! Those colours? It’s eye-catching and bright and bold and just perfect. The designers who came up with it did a great job.
I like how Cantero decided each character would cope with the trauma of what happened in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, has an anger problem and is on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri was a kid genius and budding biologist, but readers find her bartending in New York with a serious drinking problem. We see Nate in and out of mental hospitals for thirteen years, isolated from everyone except Peter, the leader of their detective club. The only problem is Peter has been dead for years.
To see the group start out struggling in the beginning to where the ended up at the end, living together in the town that holds good memories and pursuing their dreams, left me with the warm fuzzies. I like how Cantero brought they full circle.
Cantero’s decision for Andy to be in love with Kerri was well done. I like how he wrote their relationship and how unsure Kerri was about her feelings for Andy. It was authentic and I appreciated how open-ended he left their relationship. I like to think Andy joined Kerri at whatever university she decided to go to, living together happily and in love.
I’m impressed with how Cantero managed to blend mystery, magic, Native American legends, and biological mutations in this book. The gang wasn’t just facing a man in a cheap mask, but a witch/pirate queen who had accessed powers to unlock an ancient monster and its mutated henchmen. He was able to combine it all together in a way that made sense and made me want to read faster to solve the mystery alongside Andy and the gang.
For fans of the beloved Scooby-Doo series, or just a good creepy mystery, you need to pick up Meddling Kids.
Meddling Kids Rating: ★★★★